Inside the Stomach
by Kaira-chan
Summary: [Takes place directly after chapter 50 of the manga] [Eventual EnvyEd] Not sure what I can summerize without spoiling Chapter 50. After doing a rash act, Envy wonders why exactly he did it, just to save a precious sacrifice.
1. Chapter 1

Wow. First fic I've written in a while, especially a multi-chaptered one.

This takes place **directly after chapter 50 of the manga**, so if you haven't read that far, not only are you going to be lost, but you're going to be somewhat spoiled.

Obviously, this isn't chapter 51 of the manga. I doubt chapter 51 will turn out at all like this fic. So consider this an . . . well, not an AU. But an alternate way the story could have gone.

Sorry this chapter is so short. It seems after writing all of my drabbles, I've lost the ability to write longer chapters. Hopefully the next one will be longer.

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Envy felt the final layer of skin wrapping around his newly formed muscle, before he finally opened his eyes a crack. He took a deep breath in. Then he sat up quickly, coughing and gagging. Wherever he was, it smelled horrible.

He ran his hands through his hair, frowning slightly. There was some sort of thick liquid coating it. Blood, perhaps?

Rubbing his brow, he tried to remember what had happened. The pipsqueak had been trying to save his squinty eyed little friend, had jumped in front of Gluttony and then in some stupid lapse of judgment, Envy had tried to stop him from getting swallowed.

Yes, he was a precious sacrifice. But not one that Envy would risk his life for. Well, obviously not. There was only one way Envy could be killed, and that wasn't being swallowed.

His frown deepened as he stood up and looked around. He was ankle deep in blood, there seemed to be ruins all around, and skeletons. Not to mention the smell.

He sighed, looking up and only saw darkness. It would stand to reason that he was inside of Gluttony, considering how he clearly remembered being half eaten, but he wasn't outside. "Shit," he murmured, crossing his arms.

He hadn't even known that one could live inside of Gluttony. He thought once you were eaten, that was the end of it. So how was he supposed to get out? He didn't plan on spending the next few centuries trapped inside of him. Especially not alone like this.

He sighed, turning himself into a small bat, and flapped his wings, flying up until he couldn't see the ground anymore. He admitted that it wasn't too high up, considering how bad the bat's eyesight was, but he could still use sonar.

He cried out, waiting for the echo to come back to him. It didn't, so he turned around and cried again. After doing this in every direction, he discovered that he couldn't hear anything. It was almost like Gluttony's stomach was infinite, which might explain how he managed to eat everything. Envy had often wondered how Gluttony could eat so much and not be three-hundred times bigger than he was, but now he supposed he found his answer.

He was about to return to the ground, when he did hear something. It sounded like someone yelling out. It was obviously quite some ways away, but the fact that he could hear someone - and he was positive he wasn't hearing things - meant someone else was there.

More pleased with the idea that he'd have at least some company for a little bit than he cared to admit, he flew off in the direction. The words began to form more clearly as he flew closer.

"Is anyone out there?!"

Envy thought for a moment, slowing for a moment. That sounded like –

If bats could grin, he'd have one stretched across his face, and he picked up speed again, getting to nearly 97 kilometers per hour. It was a few minutes before he called out with his sonar, and 'saw' the person only a few meters away.

He circled slightly so he was behind him, before shifting back into his normal form and landing silently in the blood. He snuck up behind him, walking on his tip-toes to cause as little disturbance in the blood as possible, before hooking an arm around his neck.

"Hello," Envy sang cheerfully as the person yelped. "Didja miss me, Fullmetal Pipsqueak?"

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Constructive Criticism is more than welcome. Flames will be mocked. Next chapter will be up sooner or later. 


	2. Chapter 2

W007age, quick update. I'm hoping to finish this before chapter 51 comes out, so it doesn't screw me up. And I wanna finish it before school starts September 1st. So yeah, I have a few more chapters waiting on my computer that I'm finished. XD In case you haven't realized yet, I'm updating once a week. So I guess that means** the new chapters will come out on Thursdays**.

If anyone would like to offer to beta read this fic, feel free to drop me a line. My e-mail's in my bio.

XD This chapter's a little longer than the last. Just over 100 words longer. Not that 100 words is really that much...

* * *

Edward was taken by surprise when Envy had wrapped his arm around him, not quite sure what to do, until he heard the homunculus say the word 'pipsqueak'. He flew into a rage, flailing his arms and trying to kick Envy, all the while saying, "Stop calling me that, dammit!"

Envy moved out of the way easily, and winced slightly as Edward slipped on the blood and fell on his back.

"I keep telling you, pip-" He saw the look of rage in Edward's eyes and corrected himself hastily, "Elric. I don't want to fight you. And if you keep doing stupid things like that, you're not going to live long enough to be of any use to us."

Not that Envy was entirely sure that he could be of any use to them now that the both of them were in Gluttony's stomach.

He grinned slightly when Edward made a move to sit up, and Envy quickly slammed his foot into Ed's chest, slamming him to the ground and pressing enough weight on him to keep him there.

"It's because of your rashness and idiocy that we're stuck here anyway," Envy sneered, his upper lip curling slightly. "If you hadn't been so stup–"

"Ling!" Edward exclaimed, suddenly shooting up with strength Envy didn't know he had.

Envy toppled over, landing heavily, the blood splashing up around him. He winced, closing his eyes, and when he opened them Edward was already running, calling out for the squinty-eyed prince.

"Hey! Pipsqueak!" Envy called after him, standing up.

Before he could figure out what was happening, Edward had somehow already managed to run back to him, and before he had a chance to react, Edward's knee was in his face. Envy cursed loudly, crouching down and holding his face, before he felt the warm, comforting feeling everything fixing itself.

"That's seven," he growled, making Envy roll his eyes. "I told you to stop."

Envy stood up as Edward turned away and began to follow him as Edward walked. The two of them got about ten steps before Edward stopped and turned to Envy.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Envy shrugged. "I couldn't find a way out on my own, so I decided that I might be able to find one with you. You're supposed to be smart, after all."

Edward growled, clenching his hands into fists. "You're not going to follow me around!" he snapped, turning on his heel again and walking at a quicker pace.

Envy smiled, jogging a bit until he could jump in front of Edward. "Aw, you don't like my company?" he whined, pouting playfully.

"No, so screw off," Edward snapped, turning and walking another direction.

Envy grinned watching him walk away, and once he was a distance away, he whistled lowly. "Good luck trying to find him on your own," he sang.

Edward stopped, and though he didn't turn all the way around he tilted his head to the side a little as if to hear more clearly.

"I mean, I already checked, and if this place doesn't go on infinitely, then it sure goes on a hell of a long way. And you don't even have powers. Do you think I could've found you if it weren't for mine?" Envy asked, practically purring.

Edward frowned slightly, turning fully away from Envy and biting his lip. He did have a point, and Envy wasn't allowed to hurt him. Not seriously, at least. If he could help him find Ling, then Edward could endure a few bruises.

On the other hand, there was the chance that Envy wouldn't even try to find Ling. He might claim he was probably dead or something, and claim one of the skeletons was him, then he'd just use Edward to find a way out of Gluttony's stomach.

If Edward refused to cooperate until Ling was found, dead or alive (though, he'd prefer alive), then Envy would be more help. He would eventually have to help Edward out...

"Fine, Envy, you can come," Edward snapped, twirling around. He blinked, then looked around, somewhat panicked.

Envy had vanished.

* * *

Con crit more than welcome. Flames will be mocked.

* * *

Review replies:

Rahkshi Sister: XD Glad I could catch your attention. Soon enough for you? Hopefully I'm keeping your attention.

Shiruba Neko: Yep Ling's there too. He'll show up sooner or later. X3

Kori Hime: XDDD Points to above chapter I swear I wrote that before you reviewed. And I'm glad I reminded you

rikku-099: Canon too! D I love my pairing. XD

Kitsune Freak: XD Really? I had such trouble writing it because it came out way too simple and childish for my tastes. XD I ended up having to rewrite it three times before I thought it was decent enough to post. I'm glad someone liked the style though.

Angel-of-music1331: XD If it did, then I'd be somewhat worried about what Arakawa-sensei was smoking. XD That being said, I hope it doesn't turn out too off.

XxDyingxCryxX: Thank you And I shall

xtormentedxkitsunex: XDD Me too! Not so much the 'not fight' but the attempt to save him at the end made me go "OMG IT'S CANON NOW, SUCKAHS!" XD Well, in my own little head it is. XD Shush.


	3. Chapter 3

XD Well, I'm Canadian, and we use the metric system. Hell, everywhere but America uses the metric system. But for my American readers convenience, I've converted the distances that I use into the imperial system. XD Unfortunately, I don't know how to convert feet into yards, so you're stuck with feet.

331.4 m/s 1086.6 feet/second

337 m/s 1104.9 feet/second

5 km 3.1 miles

0 degrees C 32 degrees F

5 – 10 degrees C 41 – 50 degrees F

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Envy grinned to himself. The longer Edward wandered around on his own, unable to find Ling, the more he'd appreciate Envy's 'help' when Envy finally decided to show himself to him.

Until then, Envy could explore a little more by himself and try to figure out why this place felt so familiar to him. He'd check up on Edward every now and then to make sure he didn't get so far away that Envy would lose him.

Typical, Envy wasn't in the habit of talking to himself. He found doing such a thing completely pointless, besides, what was the point is speaking if no one was there to hear? However, something about the place made him feel very uncomfortable, and the feeling was growing more intense as time went on. He sat down on one of the ruined buildings, pulling his feet out of the blood.

"You're going insane," Envy muttered to himself, checking over his shoulder. "God dammit, this is that moronic pipsqueaks fault. If he hadn't done something so stupid then…"

Behind Envy, the shadows moved and shifted.

"…that there are more worthy sacrifices than that irrational shorty."

Something shifted under the surface of the blood, making it splash gentry against the marble.

He stopped talking suddenly, looking quickly over his shoulder.

His eyes widened as about half a doze child-like hands shot out of the blood, wrapping around his ankles, wrists and neck.

"So nice of you to return home, Envy."

---

Edward frowned, listening as his voice echoed back to him, hoping to hear Ling's voice among the echo. Or anyone's, really. Besides Envy's.

"Is anyone out there?" he cried again.

"_Anyone out there? One out there? Out there? Ere?" _

His frown deepened, and upon finding an old, half rotted log, he sat down. Something didn't seem right. Something Envy had said was bothering him.

"This place goes on infinity," Edward repeated to himself. If that was right, then there shouldn't be an echo. Echoes could only exist if there was something for them to bounce off of.

Sound should have still traveled at about 331.4 meters per second, at zero degrees Celsius.

Edward looked around for ingredients he could alchemize a thermometer with, and, as he expected, found nothing. He sighed, and closed his eyes, trying to figure it out himself. It was chilly, but not the freezing point. Perhaps between five to ten degrees.

If the laws of physics still applied, he could assume they were at sea level – it wouldn't make too much of a difference even if they weren't – and he could assume the speed of sound was maybe around 337 meters per second.

He screamed and began counting. About half a minute later, he heard his voice return to him. Divide that in half to make up for it traveling the distance twice, and it would be just over 5 kilometers away.

Edward sighed, pushing back his antenna, then stood up and began walking. He had a long way to go.

* * *

Con crit more than welcome. Flames will be mocked.**

* * *

Review replies:**

Kamatori (to review on chapter 1): XD Glad you do. And considering that I just uploaded chapter two when you reviewed, hopefully it was quick enough.

Kamatori: XD I'm glad I did a good job. I'm somewhat worried about him. XD He's a very complicated character, and all I'm so worried that my interpretation of him is way off.

Kori Hime: XD Sorry But what can I say? I'm somewhat of a review whore, and if you post chapters right after one another, then you don't get as many reviews. XDD XD And wootage for calendar. I wanted it, but I couldn't get it. :(

kiellne: XD Well, in the manga Ed's in some sort of place. XD My personal theory is outlined in chapter four. XD Well, Endvy is about as close to canon as it's going to get right now.

XxDyingxCryxX: XD The next chapter is longer, I promise.

nadare-chan: I'm glad

Rahkshi Sister: You flatter me! XD


	4. Chapter 4

All theories in this chapter are thought up by me, and should not by any means be taken as canon. XD Or fact. I just made them up so the plot could work. Shut up. XD

Still looking for a beta reader. D

That being said, due to real life stuffs I'm sad to say that I _didn't _finish writing up the fic in time for the next chapter. T-T Now, I won't discontinue it because yeah. XD I just won't. But I'm still very disappointed in myself.

I'm not finished writing chapter five yet, so I can't guarantee it will be on time next week. Sorry if it isn't.

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Edward had only been walking for about half an hour when he felt the tiny hairs on his neck and arms raise. He frowned, curious, and attempted to brush them down. When they wouldn't stay down, he decided that there must have been a large electrical discharge near-by.

"Ling!" he yelled out again. He hoped that, like he surely would, Ling would find one of the edges and if the two of them kept following it, they'd eventually meet up. He could only hope that Ling had the same thought as him.

Just over a minute later, he heard rapid footsteps behind him. For a moment, he thought it might be Ling, but soon realized that it was far too quick, even for the speedy prince.

He clapped his hands, fully intending to transmute his arm into an automail blade, when he head Envy's voice.

"Don't you _dare_ complete that transmutation."

Edward was so shocked that he paused in the middle of said transudation, turned, and saw a cheetah sliding to a stop just a few centimeter from Edward's leg. Nearly as soon as Envy stopped, he reverted back to his usual form.

"What are you doing?" Envy demanded, pushing Envy away a couple of feet as the homunculus stood up straight.

"You're getting us out of here," Envy said, stepping closer to Edward.

"Not until I find Ling," Edward snapped, turning away from Envy. "Ling!"

Envy growled, grabbing Edward's shoulder, turning him back towards him, and clutching the bottom of his face roughly. If he broke Edward's jaw, it would just give him more incentive to leave quicker.

What he wasn't expecting, however, was for Edward to place his hands on Envy's chest and use his still unfinished transudation to rip apart Envy's flesh and innards; the force sent him flying back to add his own blood to the layer they were currently walking though.

Envy cried out in agony, taking hold of his chest tightly until the pain subsided and finally disappeared. It wasn't more than a few seconds later when he jumped to his feet. He stepped towards Edward, intending to teach him a lesson, when he saw something move behind Edward.

He stopped mid-motion, and instead began walking the direction Edward had been walking; he grabbed Edward's wrist as he walked past him.

"Wha-?" Edward started, tripping over his feet for a few steps until he regained his balance and allowed himself to follow Envy. "Wait-" he started, then pulled his hand away from Envy as though just realizing the homunculus was touching him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled.

Envy stopped when Edward pulled away and tilted his head with a small frown tugging at his lips due to the question.

"You're not going to leave until you find Squinty-eyes, right?" Envy asked. His voice was uncharacteristically serious.

"Right," Edward agreed.

"Then, I'll find him. On the condition that you don't use any more alchemy until we make our escape."

Edward frowned slightly, looking for a catch. There had to be one. The homunculi didn't make deals without them. At least, that's what Edward assumed. "I'll use it in self-defense."

Envy's frown deepened, and after a long moment said, "If something attacks us, I'll take care of it."

Edward opened his mouth as if to say something, then snapped it shut again. Was Envy offering to protect him? Although that prospect was infinitely better than Envy trying to hurt or even kill him, it made the shorter boy suspicions. Envy was definitely up to something.

"I meant if _you _attacked me," Edward growled.

"If I attack you, it means you've already done something to break the deal. So do what you want."

Within a few minutes, the two of them were walking together, Envy a couple of feet in front of Edward, walking confidently and looking around, while Edward was glaring suspiciously at Envy's back. Edward had refused to walk in front of Envy, claiming the other would quite literally stab him in the back, even though he _knew _the homunculus wasn't allowed to kill him.

While Edward was thinking about what he would do when - not if - Envy betrayed him, Envy was thinking about how he would find his sacrifice's little friend without getting too far away from Edward.

Envy stopped suddenly, reached behind him, and grabbed the alchemist's sleeve tightly.

Ahead of him, he saw a small, featureless boy who almost seemed to be growing.

He yanked Edward's arm - his right one, as it turned out - in front of him, sticking his tongue out at the austere boy and all but ignored Edward's shout of protest.

The boy disappeared, and Envy allowed his muscles to relax slightly.

"What do you think you're doing!" Edward shouted, indignant. He straightened out his sleeve and dusted it off as though Envy's touch had somehow dirtied it.

Envy ignored him, beginning their trek again. Edward followed quickly, still angrily demanding answers.

Envy rolled his eyes, holding his hands to his ears dramatically as if to block out Edward's incessant babbling.

----

His annoyance for the pipsqueak grew stronger the longer the spent together, but he couldn't afford to get separated from Edward.

He had leaned many things from his Father. For one, homunculi were born from The Gate. The Gate was like a mother's womb, and Father was like a doctor, pulling them free from their mother when it was their time. Like a mother, The Gate placed a bit of herself in each of her children. They could tap into it, little by little, like how Envy could shape shift, or they could open the floodgates and allow it to all come spilling out at once, like Gluttony had when he found out he was so close to Lust's murderer.

Father warned them against releasing their true powers. Unlike a human mother, The Gate had never wanted her children to leave her. They had been forced from her by Father. Father was more powerful than her, learned her secrets, her weaknesses, and as long as he didn't overstep his boundaries, didn't become greedy, and offered her back gifts in return for her children, she let him take them from her. However, he warned them, if they ever came back to her, she would snatch them back up and trap them in her womb.

Alchemists, however, weren't born from her. They used her power in small doses, but always returned said doses to her eventually, perhaps in sleep or perhaps she took their souls once they had died. When they weren't using alchemy, they were just humans. If a human were to ever become trapped within her womb, she'd have no choice but to let them continue - unless, of course, they took something from her. In that case, she would keep them with her.

Envy wasn't sure how much Edward would have to take from her before she destroyed him, but Envy wasn't willing to find out. He assumed that it would be a lot less from _inside _than _outside._

If he stuck close to Edward, The Truth wouldn't be able to touch him. Assuming that Edward didn't do something stupid like use alchemy, of course.

Envy blinked, suddenly realizing that the shorter male had stopped screaming at him. He had stopped walking, in fact, and was a couple of metres behind Envy, staring at something in his hand.

"What is it?" Envy growled, practically stomping up to Edward.

It took Envy a moment to recognize the pocket watch in Edward's hand. The one's Wrath had shown him had never had engravings in them.

"Does the military know you defaced your watch?" Envy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Edward's eyes widened, and he snapped the watch closed quickly. "We've been walking for over two hours," Edward muttered, putting it back in his pocket.

"So?" Envy asked, though he was quite surprised. It seemed like twice that length, though that may have had to do with the company he was keeping.

"So," Edward started, rolling his eyes and speaking as if it were to a child. "We should have walked nearly five kilometres by now."

"What's your point?" Envy snapped, tapping his foot. Had the stress finally gotten to the young alchemist? Did he finally completely snap?

"We should have-" he cut himself off, as though he had realized something, and screamed.

Envy stared at him. He _must _have finally lost his mind.

The echo returned, and Envy watched in cold amusement as Edward's face crumpled, looking pained.

"Why!" Edward screamed. "How could we have made no progress! How!"

Envy frowned slightly, suddenly feeling a little nervous. Had something happened that would reduce their chances of escaping?

"Pipsqueak?" Envy asked cautiously. "Did something happen?"

"I'm not short!" Edward screamed, rounding his already mounting anger onto Envy.

He moved his arms slightly in a move that was already far too familiar to Envy. Envy shot forward at a speed that even he was somewhat shocked to find he possessed, and grabbed each of Edward's wrists, pulling them far apart violently, and snapped at the boy, his face only a few inches away.

"Clam done, Fullmetal p-" he stopped himself, then continued as though he hadn't been about to say anything, "and remember our deal."

Edward shivered a little, as though he were locking away the anger for a future usage. He fell to his knees unexpectedly, making Envy drop his wrists, and punched the ground, sending a small splash of blood up.

Envy rolled his eyes at the tantrum, and squatted down so he was eye-level with the blond.

"Now, are you going to tell me what the Hell is going on, or are you going to leave me in the dark?"

He looked around them and chuckled to himself. The both of them were quite literally in the dark, though the mystery of The Gate somehow gave them a personal lightly which permitted them to see a metre in any direction. Envy already knew they couldn't see each other's light. If they got more than a metre apart, the other would be nothing more than a shadow.

He was drawn out of his thoughts about the dark when Edward sighed heavily, and fell back on his butt heavily. He brought his knees up and hugged them to his chest.

"I heard an echo," Edward muttered into his knees.

It took Envy a second to understand what the boy had said, and when he did he was even more confused. "So?"

"So?" Edward echoed, looking into Envy's face. "So!" His voice had quickly risen to an almost yell. "You can't have an echo unless it can reflect off of something."

Envy stared at him, then began laughing. Edward pouted angrily, looking umbrageous. There was no reason Envy should be laughing at him! Did he not understand what that implied?

"You thought you could find the end of this place if you found whatever it was reflecting off of?" Apparently, he did.

"Is there something wrong with logic?" Edward asked, put off.

"There is here," Envy said, leaning closer to Edward and grinning widely. "Forget the physics of your world. Now you're in _our _world." His smile faltered for a moment, before he sat back, one leg sprawled in front of him and the other pulled up to his chest. "Everything's different here."

Even though Envy's tone was still cocky and full of itself, it seemed different, as if it were somehow saddened.

"What are you - Where's _here_?" Edward demanded.

"Go to sleep," Envy said.

Edward snorted. Did Envy honestly expect him to just fall asleep like that? Though he hadn't noticed before how exhausted the day had left him until Envy had mentioned sleep, he wouldn't go to sleep. Envy was his enemy. He was certain that Envy wouldn't - couldn't - kill him, but that didn't mean he couldn't do something else. The knowledge that he might not die did nothing to ease his mind.

Envy was humming an ancient lullaby now, one that Edward had never heard before. He closed his eyes - they were feeling dry. He was still fully alert.

Envy's humming both encompassed him and became white noise.

---

Envy smirked to himself and stopped humming, tossing Edward over his shoulder no gentler than was needed to keep him from waking.

He found a fairly long, smooth slab of concrete nearby, and laid Edward atop it.

"Sweet nightmares, Pipsqueak," he sang. "I'm going to need that brain of yours fully rested if I plan to get out of here."

He sat on the edge of the block, feet hanging over, and began humming a tuneless song so it wasn't completely silent.

He felt somewhat tired, but refused to go to sleep. He had to keep awake, keep alert. If The Truth came, there was no telling what could happen.

He closed his eyes, not noticing how distant the silence sounded.

* * *

Con crit more than welcome, flames will be mocked.**

* * *

REVIEW REPLIES:**

Keillne: XD Wow, I want a towel and a stand-up of Other World!Ed. XD And it's good enough for me, too

Kori hime: XD Well, what can I say. That, and the fact that I have one week doesn't make me rush to get things done. ;; If I updated daily and then had something come up, I'd feel obligated to rush my next update. I've just found that this works better for me. XD

Lahz: XD As being out of the fandom, and therefore not reading much of anything, I take it that means it's a good thing? XD Cooool

Rahkshi Sister: XD I spaced out through most of the class anyways, so I don't blame you.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry about the long update period. Real life and LJ fanfic communities decided to eat my soul. But hopefully I'm back. XD If you've been keeping up with the manga, obviously this isn't what happened. So let's just dub this a somewhat AU from now on.

By the way, eventually if I can ever stop being lazy, I will be making some slight changes to the previous chapters. Nothing major, just minor things.

* * *

Edward awoke somewhat disoriented. He didn't know where he was, just that the beds sucked and there was a rank stench in the air. Oh, and there was a weight on his stomach.

He opened his eyes a crack, realizing at once how dark it was yet how clearly he could see around him, as through he were carrying a flashlight, or, more accurately, a very steady torch. The light, after all, was more a sphere than a beam.

He looked down to see what was on his stomach, and found a mop of unruly hair attacked to a scantily clad body.

He stiffened as the events of the day before returned to him, suppressing the urge to cry out. Then he placed his hands on either side of Envy's head. Slowly, and _very _carefully, he sat up, lowered Envy's head into his lap and then slid his legs out from under it. He stood up. He could leave Envy there. He didn't even want to work with him. Besides, it would be easier to find Ling with alchemy no matter what Envy said. He hadn't been thinking clearly before. He had been disoriented, and Envy had confused him by following him, forbidding him to use alchemy, and offering to protect him.

He hadn't walked more than a few steps when Envy's taunting, mocking voice called out from behind him.

"Where do you think you're going, Pipsqueak?" he asked.

Edward turned around. Envy was on his stomach, elbows propping his head up.

"You haven't found Ling. I'm going to find him on my own," Edward said, his voice matching his cold gaze.

"With alchemy?" Envy asked, raising an eyebrow. His voice was still playful, but by the menacing undertones and the way his eyes narrowed, Edward knew that Envy would only accept one answer.

With this knowledge, Edward chose to leave the question unanswered.

"Don't move, and be quiet," Envy said, as his ears morphed into oversized bat ears.

Edward did as he was told, watching the homunculus suspiciously. There was no reason why he couldn't have done this earlier.

---

Envy cursed himself and his own weakness.

Homunculi were built nearly the same as humans. They ingested calories and they burned them, the slept, excreting melatonin to repair cells, and to rejuvenate their bodies. The difference – or one of the differences – between humans and homunculi (excluding Wrath) was that homunculus burned calories much slower so they needed less to eat, and their cells reproduced and repaired themselves at a much quicker pace, even without sleep, therefore the needed much less to eat, and far less sleep.

Gluttony ate for pleasure, not because he necessarily needed to. He got hungry, yes, but Envy suspected that the hunger and the pangs that were associated with were all in his head, for he had known Gluttony to go quite a while without eating. The same was true for Sloth when it came to sleep.

Envy didn't use his true form very often because it burned calories at a very rapid rate and made him very, _very _tired. The other sins, however, could use their true forms with very little physical discomfort, but Father had asked them to not use them very often. Envy hated himself for being a failure, and hated his siblings for being successes. He also hated himself because he couldn't stand the fact that he had been forced to use his true from simply to escape The Truth (though, he suspected that The Truth was only giving him a false sense of security and was able to destroy Envy, true form or not).

He also hated his weakness of being unable to control the Fullmetal one himself, having to follow through with his original promise of helping find his precious little friend from Xing (though, he had half hoped that just himself and the sacrifice could escape without bringing the pest with them).

"_...d?" _A voice cried. A very, very quiet and far off voice that Envy was hoping he could just ignore. He twitched slightly in agitation as he heard the cry again, and turned away from the voice.

"Hey, you heard him!" Ed shouted. At least, it seemed like he shouted. Envy quickly reverted his ears back to his original ones and covered them. "Fuck you, don't yell," Envy snapped, waiting for the ringing to die down.

"I didn't yell!" Ed yelled again. "And you heard him. Tell me where he is, you bastard." Ed snapped, grabbing Envy quite roughly by the shoulders.

"Like it rough, hm?" Envy said silkily, grabbing Edward's flesh wrist and twisting it to cause the shorter boy pain.

"Fuck you, I'm not getting you out of here unless you find Ling," Edward snarled through the pain.

Envy glared at him, wondering if Edward would feel the same way if he just happened to snap his arm, and then realized the shrimp probably wouldn't be able to perform the alchemy he needed to get out of here if Envy did just that.

Envy rolled his eyes, then pushed Ed away. "This time, actually be quiet," Envy said, rolling his eyes and turning his ears back to those of the bat.

"_Ed!" _Strangely enough, that annoying, accented voice seemed closer. Envy sighed, figuring out what direction it was roughly located, before turning his ears back to his own and beginning to walk towards the source.

"You did hear him!" Ed growled, running up to Envy. "And you were going to ignore him if I hadn't said anything to you, weren't you!"

Envy shrugged, then grinned. "Who knows?"

As Edward went off on another one of his long-winded, rather obnoxious tangents, Envy stuck his fingers in his ears and hummed a loud, tuneless melody.

Envy didn't see the body that laid in his path. Nor did he hear it moaning and whining for food. This may have had something to do with the fact that he was looking up at what he hoped could be called a sky, fingers still in his ears, and him still humming that tuneless song that was now starting to get on Edward's nerves and was now the target of his rant.

Edward, however, saw said body, and just chose not to warn Envy about it. It was well worth it when Envy caught his foot on the body and went sprawling forwards, and due to his fingers still being in his ears, his arms couldn't catch him, and his chin was the first thing to hit the ground.

Edward laughed. Then decided he probably _should _check to see if Ling was okay (then decided against it due to the fact that Ling was moaning about food, how he could see Heaven's gates and he was going to die before becoming immortal as opposed to afterwards, and how that hurt, dammit and was probably, in all reality, just fine).

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Concrit more than welcome. Flames will be mocked.

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–**Review Replies–**

_Kamatori_ (to review on chapter three): XD You see, I'm horrible at writing long chapters. That last one was over 2000 words, you should count yourself luck (I wasn't always that bad at long chapters, really. I just got into writing a lot of drabbles and kinda lost my ability to write long chaters).

_Kori Hime_: XD Really? I'm glad I could cross you into writing an Envy/Ed drabble XD And if I can get back onto track with this fic, I'll hit you up. XD I just figure that it's been nearly four months since I last updated, so I should probably update A.S.A.P.

_Kiellne_: XD I would imagine Ed would be tired. I probably would be. / XD

_Shiruba Neko_: Sorry I haven't been updating. XD I felt sorry for Ling too. /

_Rhel_: Typos are a girl's worst enemy. Seriously. /

_Rhakshi Sister_: Pah. Envy's a big sweetie. ... Except not at all. XD

_Envy Algaliarept_: I'd say "Yes, I know. It comes out at 'such and such a date', but it's been out for three months now so... /

_BHS_: XD I am? Thanks, I'm flattered I'm glad to have you waiting! ... Actually, I'm not and I feel rather horrible about it, but shh.

_RosenMaiden_: "The Truth" is... well, the "Gate" is in the anime. The "Doors of Truth" are in the manga. /

_Rocker-Baby-176_: XD The fact is, I haven't planned much that goes on in between here and the end. There's a definite chance that he might, but I'm not making promises. And pah, I would never kill of Ling. I _love _Ling. Ling is like... awesome. XD


	6. Chapter 6

Honestly, this chapter wanted to end the whole fanfic. XD I managed to draw it out a little longer because I actually want to get it to around 10 chapters long, but I doubt it'll be much longer than that.

Thanks to Tramontana Keeper for helping me edit this chapter a little.

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Edward and Ling had sated their hunger by eating their boots. Immediately disgusted by the matter, Envy claimed that he was not hungry. In truth, the toll his true form had taken on his body had left him starving, and quite exhausted, despite the nap he had taken previously. He would sooner die than admit either of these points to the disgusting humans, and would sooner admit _both _these points before he'd degrade himself to eating miscellaneous articles of clothing.

Instead, he scowled venomously at both of them. Especially that annoying, _worthless _human, Ling, whom he supposed he had to protect as well if he hoped for any chance of escaping this place.

Ling disliked Envy just as much as Envy disliked Ling, and was unable to put even the barest amount of trust in him, like Edward had. He had guffawed at Envy's no alchemy policy. It was obviously some not-so-clever plot Envy had thought up in order to weaken Edward, but now that the prince was there, it wasn't going to work. Ling's power did not rely on alchemy.

"Elric," Envy snapped, interrupting a whispered conversation that Ling and Edward had been engaged in. Both parts of the pair fell silent and glared at him.

"What?" Ed snapped.

"Get us out of here," Envy demanded. Edward had eaten, (his _boot_. Why, out of everything, did he choose something so _dirty_? Edward came up with some smartalecky response about how leather had protein or something like that, but Envy noted mentally that so did human flesh. He was smart enough to know it wouldn't be a good idea to either say what was going through his head, or actually go through with it.) and slept the night before. He should be in great condition to get them out.

"How?" That was, of course, if he wasn't such an _idiot_ sometimes.

"Open the Doors of Truth," Envy said, as though he were speaking to a three-year-old.

"Can't do that," Edward said with next to no hesitation, and then turned back to Ling.

Envy stared at him for a moment, feeling his blood slowly begin to boil.

"Why the hell not!" Envy screamed, lunging at the boy and grabbing hold of his shirt. Ling was at his neck with a sword nearly immediately.

Envy glared at Ling from the corner of his eye, contemplating challenging him and then killing him, and then realized that this might not be the brightest of ideas since both previous times they had fought he had his ass handed back to him on a platter. He let go of Edward's shirt, tossing him back a little, and then shrugged.

"I can't just summon the doors for no reason," Edward said, shrugging. "Besides, why would I want to do something that stupid? Last time I passed through them, I just happened to lose my limbs."

Envy glared. "Do you want to lose your head, next?" he snapped. He sighed angrily, then ran a hand through his hair in order to calm himself down. "Where do you think we are?" he growled. "Fucking Wonderland? Where the fuck is that Cheshire Cat?"

"What are you _talking _about?" Edward demanded.

"I think he's gone insane," Ling stage whispered.

"We're inside the Doors, you morons," Envy snapped. Then he forced himself to calm down. "I mean, Squinty-eyes here probably wouldn't know since he's never been there, but out of all people, Edward, you should recognize it."

Edward frowned, looking around him. It was true that this place gave him a strong sense of deja vu, but this wasn't where he had been taken before. It didn't look the least bit similar.

"I don't," Edward said, looking at Envy. "This isn't behind the Doors. Back there, it was white and full of doors. This is... not what I remember."

Envy laughed a little. "Back then, what you saw was just the edge. You didn't go deeper into it. It's like," Envy frowned, trying to think of a way to describe it. "Like a house, let's say. You can see the house from the outside, from the street, and then you can go inside and find that it's different from what you imagined."

Edward frowned. "So, we're inside the Doors?" he asked.

"Are you retarded?" Envy asked, staring at Edward, dumbfounded. Surly it wasn't possible for someone to be this slow, especially when they were supposed to be a genius.

"Hey, what are these Doors of Truth?" Ling asked, looking at Edward.

"They're," Edward started, but at that moment Envy made a sound. It was nearly impossible to describe, but Edward supposed that it could be compared to a puppy being kicked.

Edward looked at Envy, who's face was unusually pale, and followed his gaze just to see an illumination fade, wave and disappear.

Then Envy fell. Edward turned back to Envy hurriedly, feeling more worried than he probably should've for the homunculus.

"Ling!" Edward said as he knelt beside Envy.

Ling didn't respond, just stared to the point where the boy had been standing. It was a boy that Edward recognized easily, the one who had taken his limbs, but he couldn't understand why he hadn't taken any this time.

"Ling!" Edward shouted, now more impatient. Envy was heavier than he looked and he couldn't lift the boy's form from the ground (indeed, he could barely get his hands under him).

"Ed, what was that?" Ling asked. His voice was uncharacteristically serious.

"That?" Edward frowned, and followed Ling's gaze. "That was the Truth, I believe."

Ling swallowed heavily, then knelt down beside Envy, wondering – without even trying – how they would carry Envy someplace that was dry.

"I've never felt anything like it," Ling said, speaking to both himself and Edward. "It was monstrous."

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Concrit more than welcome. Flames will be mocked. 


	7. Chapter 7

Nearly two years later, and I'm not sure if I can remember where I was going with this. I think I have a rough idea though, and I have decided to finish my fanfics now. Sorry about the long update period. University's a bitch.

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Ling and Ed had been unable to move Envy with their own strength, but using Ling's power, they had managed to move the ground he was on up and out of the blood.

Ling sat beside Envy's body, while Ed paced restlessly in the blood below.

"We should leave him," said Ling. "We have the information we need, right? You should be able to get out of here without a problem…"

Edward didn't seem to hear him. He supposed he understood now why Envy had been so intent on leaving. He also understood, to an extent, the ban on his using alchemy.

"Edward," said Ling again. "We have to get out of here. That thing… The Truth... It was horrible. I know you probably couldn't feel it, but…"

They had used Alchemy to bring back the disfigured shell of their mother – both he and his brother. The Truth had taken his brother's body, and Ed's leg. It had then taken Ed's arm when he had tried to bind Al's soul to the suit of armor. Ed had to admit that he didn't truly understand how the Truth worked, nor did he understand why it hadn't attacked them before now, but he was beginning to get an idea.

"Ed, are you listening to me?"

Envy had forbidden him to use alchemy. He clearly understood, to an extent, how this place worked. It was obvious, since Envy had called it his world. He would need to wait for Envy to wake up again, to ask him some questions. The Truth must have fed off of alchemy somehow. The use of alchemy must mean that The Truth was able to take something from them. Alchemy was used to create the philosopher's stone, and it was what had lost Ed his limbs and his brother's body.

Why was Envy so scared of The Truth? Weren't they on the same side?

He didn't notice that Ling was standing in his path until he walked into him. He raised his eyes from the ground, then looked at Ling.

"Edward," said Ling. "We need to leave this place." Confident that Ed was listening now, he continued. "We have to leave Envy. He would do the same to us if he had the chance."

Edward seemed to consider this, and was silent for a whole minute. "No," he finally said. "We can't do that."

Ling frowned. "And why the hell not?!" he demanded. "You know that if he had the chance, he'd leave us both here."

Edward shook his head. "No," he said. "He was the one who came to me for help-"

"He only did it because you could get him out!"

"And he was the one who found you. I won't leave him. The three of us are all working together."

Ling scowled. "You're far too honourable," he said. "You have to stop treating them like they're human. They're not. They're monsters."

"No," Edward said. "They're not monsters." Ling said nothing, but Edward didn't continue.

"We will wait for him to wake up," he said. "I need to ask him more information as it is."

Ling continued to scowl, but he argued no more, not least of all because since Edward was apparently the only one who could get them out of this, he was in charge.

"I wonder how much time has passed since we were swallowed," said Ling, some time later.

Edward pulled his watch from his pocket again, and opened it. Unfortunately for him, he had lost sense of time. As his watch was a twelve hour one, it was impossible to say how many days had passed, if any, or if it was morning or night. He snapped it shut, and put it in his pocket.

"I hope that Al isn't worrying," he muttered, more to himself than to Ling. He knew, of course, that Al was probably worrying himself sick.

"How much longer is this guy going to remain asleep?" Ling demanded, realizing that he shouldn't allow Edward to depress himself by dwelling on the time that had passed. He nudged Envy's head, and it lolled to the side. Envy didn't react.

"I don't know," muttered Ed. "I hope it isn't too much longer. Maybe we should just take our chances and leave him."

Ling would encourage this thought to grow, but he knew that it hadn't grown at all. Edward was just talking for the sake of talking. Besides, the more he thought about it, the less information he knew about this place. Perhaps Edward was right, and they should wait for Envy to awaken before they attempted anything.

"Do you want to sleep?" asked Ed after a time. "We could each take turns sleeping until Envy wakes up."

Ling glanced at Ed, and then nodding. He laid down as far from Envy as the small platform would allow, and within moments, he was sleeping noisily.

Edward laid down, using Envy as a pillow, and stared upwards at the never-ending darkness.

At one point, Edward would have left Envy without a second glance. It would have been easy. Envy, though he wasn't trying to kill Edward or Alphonse, was trying to do _something_ with them. He killed people; he killed many innocent people. He was something to be detested, despised, and disgusted by. Edward, however, couldn't bring himself to hate him. He wondered when whatever had changed had changed. He admitted he needed Envy for his knowledge of this place. He needed Envy to help him escape. But it was more than that, wasn't it? He probably had enough knowledge now to escape on his own. He and Ling could get away now without needing to worry about anything.

It took him a moment of pondering, before he realized that Envy's stomach wasn't moving. He blinked, then sat up and looked at it. Then, he looked at Envy's face. His face paled a little, and then he looked at Envy's chest. Finally, he put his face near Envy's. He could feel no breath coming off of the other being.

"Shit," he said. How had he and Ling missed that Envy _wasn't breathing_? Did Envy even need to breathe?

He placed his hands on Envy's chest, and began pushing down on it, performing CPR. This didn't seem to be helping though, so he tilted the homunculus' head back, and began to lower his mouth to Envy's, when Envy's eyes flew open, and he shoved Edward away.

"What do you think you're doing, pipsqueak?!" demanded Envy. He regretted his decision as soon as he had a metal fist ram into the side of his face.

"That's _eight_," snapped Edward.

Envy growled and sat up, rubbing the side of his face. Edward noticed at this at this time that Envy was, indeed, breathing again.

"Do you keep track of how many times everyone calls you short?" asked Envy, rubbing his face until the pain dulled away. "How the hell do you do it?"

Edward didn't bother to mention that he didn't keep track of everyone else's. "You weren't breathing," he said.

Envy frowned, then shrugged. "Whatever you say, Fullmetal," he said Envy. He grinned, and wrapped an arm around Edward's shoulder. "Maybe you were just trying to sneak a kiss while I was sleeping."

Edward made a disgusted noise, and pulled himself away from Envy. "Get a grip," he snapped.

Envy grinned. "I'm surprised you're still here, pi – Fullmetal. I would have expected you to be out of here by now. That's what I would have done."

"You've been helping us," said Edward. "I couldn't just leave you. It wouldn't've been fair."

Envy couldn't help but smirk at him. "If that's how you want to look at it." He glanced at Ling, who was still sleeping. "You know, he hasn't been helping at all. Let's say you and I open the gate, and leave him here."

"No," said Ed simply. "I'm going to go to sleep. You keep guard." Then, he flopped down on his back, leaving Envy to stare at him, confused.

Envy sighed, and sat down, swinging his legs in the blood. Then, he saw a shadow move. He pulled his feet out of the blood, pulled them to his chest, and sat himself between Edward and Ling.

* * *

Thanks for continuing to read this after my long, long hiatus. I hope that it was worth the wait, though I doubt it was.

Please read and review. Con Crit more than welcome, flames will be mocked.

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REVIEW REPLIES:

_To kamatari:_ Envy used his true form when he had left Ed, when the Truth had grabbed him in chapter three. That was the electrical discharge that Edward had felt.

_To Toki1_: Basically what happened was that Envy had a run-in with Ling before they were swallowed. Envy used his powers, but Ling still managed to dismember him, and didn't actually get hurt at all.

_To mew2:_ Yes, but it will probably be more subtle than what I had originally intended.


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